By Amofokhai Williams
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to institute an independent investigation into the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), warning that failure to act within seven days would deepen public suspicion about the Federal Government’s handling of the matter.
Atiku said the controversy has gone beyond allegations of document forgery or impersonation and now raises fundamental questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s public institutions and governance processes.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president urged President Tinubu to order what he described as a transparent, comprehensive and independent probe into the allegations and make the findings public.
According to Atiku, any failure to initiate such an investigation within one week would reinforce growing concerns that influential figures within the administration may have benefited from the alleged fraud and that unsuspecting Nigerians seeking government appointments may have fallen victim to a well-organised racket allegedly operating under official protection.
“The issue before Nigerians is no longer whether one individual forged documents or impersonated government officials,” Atiku said.
“Rather, it is how official government processes allegedly recognised, processed and advanced the affairs of an agency the Presidency insists never existed.”
The former presidential candidate questioned the explanation offered by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, arguing that it raised more questions than it answered.
“If the government wants Nigerians to believe that one man single-handedly created an office for himself, secured office space within a government facility, held meetings with foreign embassy delegations, paid courtesy visits to the EFCC, processed staff salaries through official channels, allegedly operated institutional accounts, and carried on all these activities without the knowledge, approval, negligence or collaboration of anyone within government, then that narrative raises even more troubling questions than it answers,” he said.
“At this point, the story looks less like a clean explanation and more like an attempt to isolate one man after an internal arrangement went sour. If Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi committed fraud, he must face the law. But the bigger question is this: what kind of government system allows such an elaborate operation to pass through budgetary, administrative, security and institutional channels without detection?
“Haba. Nigerians cannot be asked to swallow such a story whole.”
Atiku maintained that while the personal history of Prince Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to head the PFIPC, may be relevant to any criminal investigation, it does not explain how official government processes allegedly recognised the agency.
“Was it his character that secured budgetary allocations for a supposedly fictitious office? Was it his antecedents that got him office space within a government facility? Was it his dubious nature that enabled him to hold meetings with foreign delegations, legislators and public officials, with some of those engagements reportedly covered by the media? Was it his character that opened or operated official financial channels for the agency?” he queried.
“At some point, we must separate an individual’s alleged conduct from the institutional systems that either enabled it or failed to detect it.”
The former vice-president further argued that reports indicating the PFIPC was captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a multi-billion-naira budget, coupled with claims that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved the recruitment of more than 300 personnel into the agency, had significantly widened the scope of the controversy.
According to him, such developments could not simply be dismissed as administrative errors.
“Budget preparation is a structured process involving ministries, departments, agencies, the Budget Office, the National Assembly and ultimately presidential assent. Recruitment into the Federal Civil Service is also governed by manpower planning, establishment approvals, financial implications, grade-level classifications and institutional clearances. These things do not happen by accident,” he said.
“It stretches credibility beyond reasonable limits to suggest that an agency described as entirely fictitious could appear in official budget documents, reportedly obtain recruitment approval for hundreds of personnel, secure official space, interact with state institutions and foreign missions, and yet have no enablers within government.”
Quoting the late novelist Chinua Achebe, Atiku added: “As Chinua Achebe once reminded us, a man who has been asked to carry a basket of eggs does not break them all and then blame the road. The Presidency cannot continue blaming one man while refusing to account for the official systems that gave life to the scandal.”
He also referenced recent statements by Adeyemi, who has denied wrongdoing and alleged that influential individuals were attempting to silence him, saying the claims further underscored the need for an impartial inquiry.
“Whether his claims are true or false is not for the Presidency to determine through press statements. That is precisely why Nigeria needs an independent investigation. Let the facts speak. Let every document be examined. Let every approval be traced. Let every official who acted, neglected a duty, or enabled this scandal be identified and held accountable,” he said.
Atiku argued that the controversy now extends beyond one individual, touching on the credibility of Nigeria’s budgeting process, the integrity of the Federal Civil Service, institutional oversight mechanisms and the Presidency’s ability to account for activities carried out in its name.
“Nigeria deserves the truth. Quietly investigating the matter and addressing the lapses would have been better than publicly presenting a story that collapses under its own contradictions. The President must order a comprehensive, independent investigation immediately. Anything short of that will amount to complicity by silence,” he said.
Ghen ghen you go fear ultimatum